Jewish Voice for Peace, January 17, 2025

The goal of Zionism is always the same: To gain as much territory for the Israeli state, with as few Palestinians or Arabs on it, as possible.

For 15 months Israel and the U.S. have tried to erase the Palestinian people. They have failed because of Palestinian sumud — “steadfastness” or “perseverance” — and because the global movement for Palestinian freedom didn’t let them. 

For the past 15 months, the Palestinian people remained steadfast, continuing to report on the ground, provide medical care, keep their schools and universities running, and remain in community and committed to return to their homes and lands, despite the endless, unspeakable horrors inflicted by the genocidal Israeli military.

For the past 15 months, the grassroots movement JVP is part of has constituted the largest, most sustained antiwar movement in half a century. As the mainstream media tried to cover up Israeli war crimes and the U.S. government repressed any opposition to these atrocities, the Palestine solidarity movement refused to cede our agency to these violent institutions. From train stations to city halls to the halls of Congress, unprecedented numbers of people – including unprecedented numbers of Jewish people – spent the last 15 months organizing tirelessly to ensure that business as usual would be impossible until this campaign of annihilation ceased. 

And the impact was enormous. By this past November, two-thirds of the American public, including a majority of American Jews, supported an arms embargo on Israel in order to stop the relentless murder of Palestinians.

This is a fragile ceasefire.

Our most urgent task is to ensure this ceasefire holds. As JVP wrote in our official statement:

We hold tightly to the hope of a halt to the Israeli military’s bombardments, an end to the starvation of Palestinians by the Israeli government, a beginning of rebuilding in Gaza, and the return of hostages held in Israel and in Gaza to their families.

On Wednesday, following the announcement of a ceasefire agreement, Palestinians in Gaza filled the streets in celebration and relief. This ceasefire could save countless lives. But we know that this moment is fragile, and if left to the Israeli and US governments, it will not hold. 

In just the 24 hours surrounding the announcement of a ceasefire, the Israeli government killed over 80 Palestinians. We know that even when the bombs do stop falling, Israel has already destroyed the conditions for life in Gaza. Now is the moment to escalate our struggle for a true end to the Israeli government’s genocide of Palestinians. We echo the Arab Resource and Organizing Center (AROC), who remind us:

As we mark this ceasefire, it is time to redouble our efforts with clear demands:

• Ensure the ceasefire remains permanent.
• Demand that Israel withdraw its military from Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, and all occupied lands.
• Guarantee unrestricted aid and reconstruction for Gaza.
• Hold Israel accountable for its crimes against humanity.

It is up to all of us to ensure that this temporary agreement turns into an end to the genocide, and into real change: lifting Israel’s siege of Gaza, and dismantling and ending Israeli occupation and apartheid. 

That means the ceasefire is a call to us: to organize harder than ever. This means we need to fight with renewed energy to stop the flow of U.S. weapons and military funding to Israel. This means resisting cynical legislation in Congress seeking to sanction the International Criminal Court for holding Israeli war criminals to account. This means continuing the fight to divest from the Israeli genocide and apartheid economy at every level of society — from campuses to state treasuries.

Our movements have power. We recommit to continuing to build that power and organizing toward Palestinian liberation, and a just and free future for all.